South Florida search-and-rescue teams, working with other first responders from around the world, helped pull a 43-year-old security guard alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping center, eight days after devastating twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, Miami city officials report.
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was rescued Thursday from the collapsed basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal town of Catia La Mar. Covered in dust and strapped to a stretcher, Gil Flores was cheered by helmet-clad rescue workers after enduring a grueling ordeal underground.
Teams carrying flags from around the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil Flores, wearing an oxygen mask and covered in an orange tarp, through throngs of people to an ambulance where they methodically checked his vital signs.
Gil Flores, who worked as a night-shift security guard at the complex, was inside his small security cabin when the first violent tremor struck. While the surrounding concrete structure collapsed around him, his cabin held ground, shielding him from crushing debris and creating a vital pocket of air.
First responders initially made contact with Gil Flores over the weekend, working more than 100 hours to free him by navigating a highly unstable structure, torrential rain and persistent aftershocks to tunnel down to the survivor.
The rescue was part of a massive international effort that included the Florida Task Force. Led by the City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue, the task force deployed 80 highly trained personnel from various South Florida cities to assist in the disaster zone, said city of Miami officials.
The operation was coordinated by an urban search and rescue team of Chilean firefighters, who worked around the clock with specialized teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela.
Members of Miami's FL-TF2 worked shoulder-to-shoulder with international crews, utilizing specialized knowledge and high-tech equipment to finally free the trapped man.
In a statement following the operation, City of Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins praised the bravery and dedication of the rescue workers.
“Today, all of Miami has a reason to be proud,” Higgins said. “This rescue is a testament to what humanity can accomplish when we work together.”
"My thoughts remain with Hernán Alberto Flores Gil as he begins his recovery, and with the thousands of victims from this tragedy," Higgins said.
The collapse of the building where Flores Gil worked was triggered by two back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 that registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively.
The shallow, violent tremors damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 11,000 and leaving La Guaira state as the hardest-hit region in the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
